This year, the theme of National Nursing Week (May 8 to 13) is Our Nurses. Our Future.
At IPTN, we know that nurses will play a central role in the future acceptance and spread of therapeutic nutrition.
That’s one reason why we are launching our new certified training module, Foundations in Therapeutic Nutrition for Nurses, during this important week that celebrates the many roles nurses play in patients’ healthcare journeys.
The self-directed course for nurses is an addition to IPTN’s similar training programs for pharmacists and dietitians (a physician course is still in the works.) While the overall structure and core content are similar for all healthcare providers, there are separate versions to address discipline-specific implications for clinical practice. A certificate is given at the end. The 12-hour online program (Level 1) and subsequent skill-building workshop (Level 2) will give nurses the grounding and confidence to raise nutritional options for patients, support them in their nutritional goals, and refer them to the best resources, especially those with chronic diseases such as diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
“Nurses get very little nutritional education in their formal training, but in their jobs they are usually the healthcare provider who spends the most time with patients and therefore may have the greatest opportunity to support patients in adopting dietary lifestyle changes that can improve their health,” says Dene Barbondy, RN, IPTN’s Director of Training and Programs.
“Nurses could be a leader in beginning these conversations, assessing what patients eat and how nutrition may be impacting chronic disease. Nurses can contribute to better patient care by making referrals to other members of the interdisciplinary team and by understanding and supporting food-first approaches,” explains Barbondy, who along with working at IPTN, is a teacher of nursing students at a Vancouver BScN nursing program.
The Foundations in Nutrition course may not only help nurses help their patients, but it may also even help some nurses manage their own health issues, too, notes Barbondy.
“How many nurses are fatigued, lacking energy, struggling with shift work, brain fog, dealing with aching joints, or even dealing with metabolic issues like prediabetes or diabetes?” said Barbondy who saw her own health, wellness, and energy levels transformed by adopting some of the therapeutic nutrition approaches discussed in the course.
For more information on the Foundations in Therapeutic Nutrition training program for nurses, dietitians, or pharmacists, or to register, click on the link below.
תגובות